Three-year campaign to protect Halling Bishops Palace Wall
The Halling Historical Society is celebrating after successfully securing funds to protect and preserve the remains of the 900-year-old Halling Bishops Palace Wall
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00:00At the edge of Medway, along the river, and in a small community of Hauling, there's a
00:06historical monument you may never have heard of. The Bishop's Palace. A 12th century summer
00:13residence for the Bishop of Rochester for around 300 years. It's currently owned by
00:18Medway Council, but the local history society says they too seemingly didn't know about
00:24this. Until recently, it was in this sorry state.
00:29For two and a half years, we just were getting nowhere. I mean, they look after the likes
00:34of Apna Castle, Rochester Castle, they get the attention. It's been forgotten about.
00:41I guess they might argue and say, you know, they get a few more visitors going to it than
00:44this might. I'd agree with them, but this is a national
00:49monument right in the heart of the village of Hauling. It deserved not to be forgotten
00:54about. What you see today is the remains of the
00:58Great Hall, a small section of what was the palace for Bishop Gundolf, the architect responsible
01:04for Rochester Cathedral and the White Tower of London. This monument began to be demolished
01:10in the 1600s, and from the 19th century, much of Hauling was quarried, with railway line
01:16just about leaving the section you see today. And the local community doesn't want to lose
01:21anymore. The Bishop of Rochester at one time had five
01:24palaces, Ludstown, Trosley, here, etc, as well as his main palace in Rochester. So he
01:34moved around between them. This was important in that when the Bishop was in residence during
01:40the summer, much of the administration of the Diocese of Rochester was dealt with from
01:46here. Midway Council will soon have to remove the
01:50rest of the vegetation, with this large branch needing to be removed carefully to ensure
01:55there's no more damage. Gabriel Morris, in Hauling.